Mobile Banking Popular on Cell Phones

A new comScore report shows that mobile users are using both WAP browsers and native apps to access their bank accounts, at roughly even percentages each.

Mobile banking continues to have legs on cell phones. A new comScore report shows that mobile users are using both WAP browsers and native apps to access their bank accounts at a roughly even mix, according to MediaPost.

The report said that the only significant difference was with text messaging, which makes sense, since the lowest-end feature phones can't run browsers or native apps effectively. Only 25 percent of smartphone users bothered with SMS banking, whereas 41 percent of feature phone owners did.

Either way, the trend is clear, and jives with an earlier report from ABI Research in January. "The relative parity among usage of browsers versus applications for access to mobile banking indicates the growing importance of ease of use for accessing accounts and conducting transactions," comScore said in a statement about today's findings.